Redditor uses AI to get Switch games running natively on Apple TV
The TVPort project is another example of people using Claude Code to bring software to other platforms.
Over the last several weeks, we've seen many instances of people using AI tools, particularly Claude Code, to recompile or clone software. Some have attempted to decompile and recompile video games to get them running on other platforms, with one of the latest efforts involving someone getting Nintendo Switch games to run natively on an Apple TV 4K.
How TVPort Works
Redditor u/FloatingFalafel has released an open-source project called TVPort, a fork of the nxnative toolkit that recompiles Switch and Switch 2 games for the set-top box using a Mac. The developer noted that they used Claude Opus 5.5 for this project. TVPort backs up save files to Mac or iCloud and allows users to choose between target framerates of 30 fps and 60 fps.
Super Mario Odyssey is said to run at 60 fps with very slight stutters on occasion and some audio issues around waterfalls. Animal Crossing: New Horizons is seemingly limited to 30 fps, with the developer stating they hadn't encountered any issues.
Hardware Limitations
More work is needed to get The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom running properly, as it experienced thermal throttling on Apple TV during tests. The developer stated that heavier games might never run on the Apple TV 4K 3rd-gen due to the need for partial rewrites of the game's engine.
The TVPort repository doesn't contain any game files. Anyone interested in experimenting with it themselves would have to provide their own files, legally obtained from their own Switch cartridges.
Using AI tools to bring games to other platforms is a contentious issue. The operators of one prominent website, decomp.dev, recently said they were shutting the site because the community aspect of decompilation has been broken by bad actors using AI. Anthropic has since instructed Claude Code not to recreate existing games.
Apple TV Gaming Potential
The TVPort project offers a reminder of what the Apple TV 4K is capable of as a gaming device. While the Switch is almost 10 years old, the set-top box remains a solid gaming system that can handle much more than standard media streaming.
